Fall of Tarsonis
Sons of Korhal |side2= Terran Confederacy |side3= Zerg Swarm |side4= Protoss Koprulu Expeditionary Force |commanders1= Arcturus Mengsk Edmund Duke Sarah Kerrigan Jim Raynor "Commander" |commanders2= Confederate Council Ilsa Killiany Ledbetter Jackson Hauler Gregory Reikson Confederate High Command Esmerelda Ndoci Angelina Emillian Samir Duran |commanders3= The Overmind Daggoth Zasz Young Cerebrate |commanders4= Tassadar |forces1= Alpha Squadron Elite Guard Raynor's Rangers/Raiders |forces2=Delta Squadron Nova Squadron Omega Squadron Tarsonis Police Force Annihilators |forces3=*Various Broods |forces4=*Protoss Expeditionary Fleet |casual1=Medium |casual2=Heavy |casual3=Medium |casual4=Low |battle= }} The Fall of Tarsonis was the climax and finale of the Rebel Yell conflict and saw the effective end of the Terran Confederacy. The Sons of Korhal overwhelmed Confederate defenses by luring the Swarm to the capital world with psi-emitters. Despite interference by the protoss expeditionary force led by Executor Tassadar, the Sons of Korhal and zerg achieved a devastating victory. Background The anti-Confederate insurrection spearheaded by the Sons of Korhal gained intractable momentum after the Battle of Antiga Prime. That battle saw the defection of Alpha Squadron to the rebel cause''StarCraft.'' Vivendi Games. Mission: Norad II (in English). 1998. and validated the effectiveness of the psi-emitters.StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Trump Card (in English). 1998. Thus strengthened, Arcturus Mengsk, leader of the Sons of Korhal, planned to strike Tarsonis and destroy the heart of Confederate power. He kept the exact nature of the plan secret from subordinates such as Sarah Kerrigan and Jim Raynor. Rebel Invasion Breaking through Tarsonis' orbital defenses was delegated to General Edmund Duke and Alpha Squadron. Duke was intimately familiar with the defenses. Three orbital platforms served as staging points for the Confederate military and Duke proposed a strike on the central platform. This would cause enough confusion to allow a small force to break through to the surface. The rebels secured the platform after defeating defending Delta and Omega Squadron forces.StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Big Push (in English). 1998. Descent to Tarsonis A Sons of Korhal forceDeCandido, Keith R. A. (November 28, 2006). StarCraft: Ghost: Nova. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 0-7434-7134-2. led by Sarah Kerrigan and Jim Raynor descended to the surface,Grubb, Jeff (February 27, 2001). StarCraft: Liberty's Crusade. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 0-671-04148-7. destroying war factories operated by Nova Squadron, Delta Squadron and Omega Squadron. They received reinforcements from General Duke,Operation: Silent Scream whose own forces also set up psi-emitters. Confederate General Ledbetter coordinated the Confederate response, but they were defeated. Heavy fighting also took place between the Sons of Korhal and the Confederate military in the streets of Tarsonis City. Alien Invasion The active psi-emitters drew the zerg to the planet and began overrunning the surprised Confederates and rebels on the surface. Tassadar's expeditionary force arrived in pursuit of the zerg sooner than Mengsk expected. The protoss were interested in only fighting the zerg, but automatically were treated as hostile and fired upon by the Confederates. The protoss efforts against the zerg alarmed Mengsk. The rebel leader feared the Confederates would escape while the zerg were diverted. Mengsk ordered Sarah Kerrigan to defend the zerg hives at from the protoss over the objections of Kerrigan and Jim Raynor. Fighting in the city degenerated into a four-way melee between the rebels, Confederates, zerg, and protoss. The rebels eventually forced the protoss to withdraw but were in turn overrun by the zerg. Kerrigan was lost after requests for support and retrieval by the rebel fleet were ignored, much to the horror of Raynor and several followers.StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: New Gettysburg (in English). 1998. Evacuation As Mengsk ordered the rebel fleet to withdraw, Raynor and reporter Michael Liberty disobeyed orders and commandeered a dropship to New Gettysburg. On the ground political affiliations were discarded as terran troops banded together in a desperate fight against the zerg while the protoss forces began to withdraw from the city. The pair retrieved a number of soldiers and refugees before being forced to lift. Despite the retrieval team's efforts, Kerrigan was not among the rescued. The dropship rendezvoused with the battlecruiser Thunder Child before departing from Tarsonis. The zerg continued to attack the Confederacy and protoss in order to protect their prizeStarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Among the Ruins (in English). 1998. before departing for Char.StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Egression (in English). 1998. Aftermath The end of the Confederacy followed quickly after the fall of Tarsonis. On the rebel side, Jim Raynor led Raynor's Rangers and others disenchanted with Mengsk or the rebels in a break from the Sons of Korhal. These outcasts escaped Tarsonis after fighting the Sons of Korhal.StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Hammer Falls (in English). 1998. The Sons of Korhal moved to fill the vacuum left by the Confederacy. As the victorious rebels received the allegiance of many former-Confederate worldsBlizzard Entertainment Staff. 2007-11-21. The Story so Far... Part 1: StarCraft. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2007-11-21. Arcturus Mengsk proclaimed the formation of the Terran Dominion, with Korhal as the new capital world.StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Cinematic: The Inauguration (in English). 1998. References Category: Great War battles